The house on its 24-mile journey to Altadena avoiding overpasses and sharp bends.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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Topline:
Overnight Tuesday, large pieces of a house were moved from L.A to Altadena. The now-rare process marks the start of the Historic House Relocation Project’s effort to get fire-affected homeowners back in homes.
How was it moved? The two-story home was mostly dismantled over the last several weeks. It was then cut into pieces, which were loaded onto flatbed trucks. The oversized loads slowly rolled over 24 miles to its fire-scarred destination in Altadena.
Why it matters: The project uses a unique approach to help families. They’re reviving the old process of house moving while also saving homes that would’ve otherwise been demolished.
What’s next? The pieces are getting placed on temporary box cribs, where they’ll be reassembled. The home’s new owners, Gwen Sukeena and Jacques Laramee, will likely move in after a year. More families may be next.
A now-rare event happened in Los Angeles early Tuesday: Crews began moving a house across the city into Altadena.
It’s part of the Historic House Relocation Project, an initiative from the architecture firm Omgivning, which aims to help fire-affected families move into a house in a faster and less expensive way.
The first house to undergo the journey is a 1910 Craftsman home in Los Feliz that was originally slated for demolition. It’s going to a family who lost their home in the Eaton Fire only months after purchasing it.
LAist rode along during the overnight expedition to see what happened.
Preparing for the ride
As crews dismantled the two-story house in recent weeks, the second floor was broken down and stored on the first level. The new owners, Gwen Sukeena and and Jacques Laramee, said moving day has been particularly stressful.
Jacques Laramee and Gwen Sukeena embrace prior to the moving of two trucks with pieces of their new home.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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“ We didn’t get any sleep,” said Sukeena. “We just cuddled up in the back of the car and just tried to sleep the best we could.”
The move marks a milestone in a monthslong journey. Morgan Sykes Jaybush, Omgivning’s creative director, said it had been drawn out because of uncertainty over permits. He had to get 21 street permits in different jurisdictions for the drive alone. Then the team had to get another permit to move the pieces onto the property.
Morgan Sykes Jaybush, creative director of Omgivning, an L.A.-based architecture and interiors firm that focuses on adaptive reuse of existing buildings.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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“ The county didn’t have a process for that… so they issued us a garage sale permit, and in the note it says like, relocation of house,” Jaybush said.
They got the last permit on Friday, right before the city office closed, which finally allowed them to get moving.
The home being moved through downtown L.A. to Altadena.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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Rick Ellison, owner of Dinuba House Movers, handled the transfer of the building. He said that house-moving was once quite common, and the structures were transferred intact, but today they need to be divided into pieces to make the journey because there's just not enough room on modern streets.
Want to participate?
The project is open to anyone who lost a home in the Eaton or Palisades fires, has an empty lot and can afford the move.
If you’re a homeowner interested in donating a house, fill out this form.
If you’re interested in acquiring a house to relocate to your property, fill out this form.
Omgivning can also be reached at HouseRelocation@Omgivning.com or (213) 596-5602.
Inside the pieces moved Tuesday in the predawn hours were the sunroom, dining room and part of the living room. In preparation for travel, crews put wooden frames onto the exposed parts and plywood walls to make it more shake-resistant during the drive. They were loaded onto a flatbed truck and chained down.
“ You ever seen grass grow? You ever seen paint dry?” Ellison said. “That’s about how exciting house moving is.”
The house on its 24 mile journey to Altadena avoiding overpasses and sharp bends
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
)
The trek to Altadena
The journey started at 3 a.m., moving at about 20 mph.
An L.A. street services investigator escorted us through the city, blocking intersections to help the oversized load trucks pass through. The two trucks had to follow all traffic laws along a 24-mile route that was carefully crafted to avoid things like underpasses and sharp turns.
The trip was mostly smooth sailing across, except for a slight detour at MacArthur Park as a crime scene blocked off the part of Wilshire Boulevard we needed to drive on. But once we hit clear, straight roads, the drivers picked up speed.
At dawn, after its cross town journey, the house arrives in Altadena
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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After a roughly two-hour ride, the pieces arrived at the lot at 5:30 a.m. as the sun was beginning to come up.
Now the task was to get the pieces off the truck.
Jacques Laramee and Gwen Sukeena as their new home is moved onto their lot in Altadena.
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Brain Feinzimer
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LAist
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The drivers slowly pulled into a dirt area as crews placed wood slats underneath the tires to keep it steady. Squealing and cracking sounds could be heard as the truck rolled over the wood.
The pieces would ultimately be moved to box cribs, which is an elevated platform about 5 feet high that’s made with wood resembling Lincoln Logs.
What happens next?
The two other pieces of the house will be moved to Altadena early Wednesday morning. They’ll stay on the cribs as they’re reassembled. The reconstruction and renovation will likely take a year.
Another home in Hollywood is expected to be moved to Altadena later this month.
Other families may soon join the relocation effort. Jaybush has a long list of homes slated for demolition that could be approved for the move. Costs, conditions and timing will vary on a case-by-case basis.
So far, Jaybush has dozens of other families who are interested in relocating a house for themselves, including in the Pacific Palisades. That’s why Omgivning has started doing info sessions so they can reach more people.
